Update — June 6, 2026: PDF-BatchBooklet, PDF-BatchScale, PDF-BatchStitch, and PDF-MusicBinder are updated to version 1.6.3. Annotations are now reliably preserved across a wider range of source files.
Update — April 20, 2026: PDF-BatchBooklet, PDF-BatchScale, PDF-BatchStitch, and PDF-MusicBinder are updated to version 1.6.2, and PDF-Counter is updated to 1.0.2. Annotations are now reliably preserved across a wider range of source files, and encrypted files that don’t require a password to open the document are processed.
Not long after the recent major rebuild of the PDF Batch Utilities available from Notation Central, a smaller update has arrived. This update ensures annotations are preserved, fixes page count and processing issues with certain PDFs, and adds a useful flatten-only mode in PDF-BatchScale.
Version 1.6.1 is now available for PDF-BatchBooklet, PDF-BatchScale, PDF-BatchStitch, and PDF-MusicBinder, with a corresponding 1.0.1 update to PDF-Counter. You can read about the broader overhaul in our previous coverage, but this latest release is less about new features and more about making sure what you see is actually what you get.
Annotations, finally preserved
If you’ve ever marked up a PDF in Adobe Acrobat or Preview — fingerings, bowings, text comments, editorial markings — you may have run into a subtle but significant problem.
Those markings aren’t always part of the page content itself. Instead, they often live in a separate annotations layer. And until now, that meant they could quietly disappear when running files through the PDF Batch Utilities.
Version 1.6.1 changes that. All four apps now include a Flatten annotations option (enabled by default), which merges those annotations into the page content before any processing takes place. In practical terms, your markings now come through exactly as expected in the output.
If you want the old behavior — stripping annotations entirely — you can still disable the option. The setting is remembered between sessions.
A clever bonus in PDF-(Don’t)-BatchScale
There’s also a small but useful addition in PDF-BatchScale: a Don’t scale (flatten only) option.
This does exactly what it sounds like. It disables scaling entirely and simply outputs a copy of the file with annotations flattened. The result is effectively a batch “flattening” tool, without the need for a separate utility.
Fixing “incremental” PDFs
Another improvement addresses a class of PDFs that can cause subtle but serious issues: files that have been modified after export; for example, when saved with incremental updates in Acrobat or Preview.
Previously, these files could result in incorrect page counts or unexpected processing behavior. Version 1.6.1 (and PDF-Counter 1.0.1) improves handling of these documents, resulting in more accurate page counts and more reliable output across the board.
If you’ve ever had a file mysteriously come out wrong and couldn’t quite explain why, there’s a good chance this fix will make a difference.
Small UI consistency tweaks
A minor but polish: PDF-BatchBooklet and PDF-BatchScale now use the same terminology as the other apps, replacing Delete and Clear List with Remove and Clear All. It’s a small change, but part of a broader effort to make the suite feel cohesive.
Getting the update
Existing users: You don’t need to place a new order. Simply log in to your Notation Central account, or enter your email at the “Retrieve Files” link at the top of the Notation Central site, and you’ll find the updated versions waiting for you.
New users: All of the PDF Batch Utilities are available in the Productivity category at Notation Central on a pay-what-you-wish basis, with a suggested contribution of $10 per app.
If you’d like to make a further contribution — whether you’re a new user or a longtime one — you can do so either at our Notation Central site, or by clicking the Donate button you see on Scoring Notes. If they’ve become part of your workflow, consider supporting their continued development — even modest contributions help keep them maintained and compatible with modern systems.
